The game of bingo traditionally is played by a plurality of players, each of whom holds a card bearing numbers arranged in a 5 by 5 matrix with the letters BINGO heading respective columns of numbers. A bingo game caller draws bingo balls randomly generated by a bingo blower, each bingo ball being printed with a combination of a letter and a number. For example, a bingo ball may be printed with the designation “B-8” corresponding to a number 8 in the B column of the matrix or “O-74” corresponding to the number 74 in the O column of the matrix. If a drawn combination of column and number appears on a player's bingo card, then the player covers the number on his or her card.
A bingo game is won, i.e. a “BINGO” is obtained, by the first person or persons covering a pre-designated pattern of numbers on his or her bingo card. There are a large number of possible patterns that can be designated as winning patterns, but most fall within the categories of static patterns (patterns that cannot be rotated or shifted), crazy patterns (patterns that can be rotated by 90, 180, or 270 degrees), or wild patterns (patterns that are fixed but can be shifted up and down or sided to side). For example, a wild pattern comprising a line of covered numbers across a bingo card may be designated as a winning pattern. The first player to obtain a line of covered numbers across any of the five rows of his or her bingo card may declare “BINGO” and win the game. Alternatively, a pattern of one covered number in the left column and one in the right column of a bingo card or simply a number in one designated column may be designated as a winning pattern. Any one or more of the very large number of possible patterns may be designated as a winning pattern including, for instance, happy faces, airplanes, diagonal lines, letters of the alphabet, around the corners, and so on.
In many states, traditional bingo and other games similar to bingo, which satisfy particular legal requirements, may be played for charitable purposes as well as in Native American gaming establishments on Native American land placed into trust for gaming by the Department of Interior, or on a Native American Tribe's reservation. These are sometimes referred to as Native American casinos. High stakes bingo has evolved over the years within Native American gaming facilities as Class II gaming where Class III gaming is prohibited. Such high stakes bingo has received considerable attention in recent years, and many Native American Tribes have invested in high end casino-like facilities where Class II bingo and other Class II games such as pull-tabs and electronic bingo can be played. Although traditional high stakes bingo has grown in popularity over the years, it typically requires a lot of space and a relatively large number of players to be economically feasible. Further, high stakes bingo has generally remained quite traditional and basic, lacking not only the excitement of Vegas-style gaming but also the intimacy and fast action of electronic gaming and traditional table games such as blackjack, poker, roulette and craps.
Variations in the game of bingo have been offered in the past in attempts to increase the excitement of play while striving to comply with the basic legal requirements for permissible bingo games. Some of these variations have attempted to adapt bingo to table play, with hopes of capturing the intimacy and excitement of traditional table games. One such form of bingo, generally known as “fast action” bingo and sometimes referred to as “lightning” or “bullet” bingo, while differing from traditional bingo by using a limited group of numbers (and in some cases three numbers), are nevertheless labor intensive and require large numbers of players to be financially successful, both for the players and for the bingo game operator.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,823,534 of Banyai discloses a bingo table game including a table having player stations arrayed around the table. Players sit around the table in an intimate group. The game permits each player to select a set of numbers to be matched during play by randomly drawn numbers on bingo balls. The selection may include a wild designation, which each player may deem to match one of his or her selected numbers. A dealer or caller draws random numbers printed on bingo balls and a “bingo” occurs whenever a player has matched all of his or her selected numbers to a set of randomly drawn numbers. The game is permitted to progress at multiple levels of play notwithstanding the occurrence of prior bingos in the game being played. While the bingo table game of Banyai may be a step in the right direction, it nevertheless remains quite simplified and still does not provide players with the more exciting experience of playing a Vegas-style betting game.
A need therefore persists for a Class II bingo table game and a method of playing bingo that supplies players with the excitement, intimacy, and enjoyment of playing a Vegas-style Class III casino game while complying with the legal definitions of Class II Bingo. It is to the provision of such a table game and method that the present invention is primarily directed.